Upon heading to our seats upstairs at the super cool Dosey Doe Music Cafe in Conroe, Texas we spotted the headliner for the evening eating his dinner. Paul Thorn was tearing into a “ginormous” chicken fried steak (actual description on menu)  and then proceeded to provide a “ginormous” good show to a packed house of 250 people on a Sunday evening!

This was our sixth time to catch this talented ex-boxer from Mississippi and his crackerjack band of over 15 years just keeps on keepin’ on. Thorn’s band consists of keyboardist Michael Graham, bassist Ralph Freidrichsen, drummer Jeffrey Perkins and outstanding lefty lead guitarist Bill Hinds. This rocking ensemble brings everything to the party in the form of great songs, superb action playing and a whole lot of rock n’ rollin’!

Thorn has wisely tapped into the middle class and is running with it major with his straight to the heart lyrics about the society we live in. Lines like: “Don’t try to please everybody, just get out there and be proud of who you are” ring true and it was evidenced by how so many people sang them right along with him. Songs like “What the Hell Is Goin’ On”,  “Resurrection Day” and super new one that will land on his next album “Everybody Needs Somebody” turned into a massive sing along!

PT makes no bones about it that he’s an average Joe trying to do good and trying to find a light at the end of the tunnel at all times. He’s a gifted songwriter who admits his failures and tells the funniest tales about them that is beyond refreshing and believable in a cute as hell unique Southern drawl.

Dude can shift gears and go tender on you like “Love Scar” and “Mood Ring” and then flip into an amazingly good cover of the Jackson Brown hit, “Doctor My Eyes”, which recently appeared on a Tribute CD with the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt, Joan Osbourne  and Lyle Lovett to name a few. Mighty nice company indeed.

It seems like every song holds a message like “Sister Ruby’s House of Prayer” which is about a fortune teller whom PT does not believe in, yet does show the struggles for people to unlock the future about love, happiness and money. New one nailed it with “Mediocre is King” telling how stars are manufactured on TV and shoved down our throats. He’s not afraid to say kiss my ass in his songs when knocking both the Democrats and Republicans, who seem not to care about the very people in this room-hard working people who just want a fair shake.

Nothing personifies this performer better than what has become a staple at all Thorn gigs where he goes out amongst the crowd and leads a revival type feel to the building. Lights are up and he’s hugging, slapping hands and never missing a note to his tune “Take My Love With You” !! Paul Thorn is a smart man who learned a long time ago it was better to trade in getting his head bashed in for hugging people and warming their hearts along the way. It’s working just damn fine and we cannot wait until the seventh show comes our way…God Bless live music supporters!